Kitten in the House
by monnie3
Summary: SHONEN-AI. A kitten comes to the Koneko and subsequently bring Aya and Yoji together.


Kitten in the House  
  
Aya carried the garbage bag out to the dumpster, shivering as a blast  
  
of autumn wind hit his thin frame. As he turned to head back into  
  
the Koneko, he heard a tiny mewling sound from a cardboard box. He  
  
went to the box and opened it, a pair of tiny blue eyes stared up at  
  
him. The calico meowed again, loudly this time, sounding almost like  
  
a scream. Violet eyes considered it for only a moment, before Aya  
  
picked it up carefully in one long-fingered hand and carried it  
  
inside. The kitten cried more and nestled against his orange  
  
sweater, chewing on it, in an attempt to nurse. He walked into the  
  
shop.  
  
"Oi! Aya! We need your help over here," Yoji called out.  
  
Aya  
  
ignored his lanky teammate and continued into the kitchen.  
  
"Aya!"  
  
Yoji followed him into the kitchen. "Where're you going?  
  
We're  
  
swamped out there and it's closing time. Yer the only one those  
  
girls will listen to." Aya continued to ignore Yoji and went to  
  
the  
  
refrigerator for some milk. "Aya!" Yoji grabbed the  
  
redhead's arm  
  
and spun him around.  
  
"Be careful," Aya spat out. "This kitten needs to be  
  
fed." He then  
  
turned around and pulled the milk out.  
  
"Aya?" Yoji questioned in disbelief. "Lemme help."  
  
He took the  
  
milk from Aya's hand. "Go sit down and keep it warm.  
  
I'll warm some  
  
of this up and find a medicine dropper." The blonde poured some  
  
milk  
  
into a bowl and popped it into the microwave. He then poked his head  
  
into the shop. "Oi, Omi. We got a medicine dropper  
  
anywhere?"  
  
"Yoji-kun! We need help out here!"  
  
"I know, I know, but this is a little more important."  
  
Omi's look turned from hassled to concerned in an instant.  
  
"There's  
  
one with the med. kit in the bathroom. Is everything alright?"  
  
"Fine, except that we need to feed a starving kitten."  
  
"KAWAII!!" several girls chorused.  
  
"Ladies, we need to close shop now. But please do grace us with  
  
your  
  
lovely presences on Monday. Our week just doesn't start off  
  
right if  
  
you're not here. And you shall fill our weekends with pleasant  
  
dreams," Yoji gushed. There was a chorus of giggling and sighs  
  
as  
  
the girls slowly filed out of the shop. Once the girls had left,  
  
Yoji headed back to the kitchen with a roll of his eyes, leaving Ken  
  
and Omi to close up.  
  
Aya looked up at him with an impatient glance as the kitten climbed  
  
around on his shoulders, "Well?"  
  
"Here," Yoji went to take the kitten off of Aya's  
  
shoulders but was  
  
stopped by a hot glare.  
  
"I'll feed him."  
  
"Alright already. No need to be so mean about it." Yoji  
  
brought Aya  
  
the warm milk and medicine dropper. He watched, fascinated, as Aya  
  
tenderly fed the tiny fuzz ball. After it had eaten its fill, it  
  
snuggled up against Aya with a purr and fell asleep. Yoji smiled up  
  
at Aya, "Looks like you've made a new friend. What're  
  
you gonna name  
  
it?"  
  
"His name is... WB."  
  
Yoji's look grew puzzled, "WB? As in Warner Brothers?"  
  
He  
  
chuckled.  
  
Aya glared, "No." He then rose from the table and went up to  
  
his  
  
room, thoughts spinning. Illiterate moron. His thoughts moved to  
  
his childhood with Aya-chan.  
  
"Ran niichan! Look what tousan and kaasan got us!" The  
  
eight-year-  
  
old girl stood still, carefully holding a calico kitten in her arms.  
  
Although her body was still, her eyes danced with joy. "We can  
  
keep  
  
her if we promise to feed her and take care of her. Will you help  
  
me?"  
  
The redheaded boy smiled. Aya-chan had wanted a kitten for so  
  
long. "Sure Aya. So what are you going to name her?"  
  
"Neko-chan!"  
  
Ran's face drew into a thoughtful frown, "Just cat?"  
  
Aya became serious, "Not just cat, Ran. She's my dear,  
  
special  
  
kitty. See?"  
  
"Aa."  
  
The kitten was young enough that it hadn't been weaned yet, so  
  
they  
  
had to bottle feed the kitten. Aya usually did it, but Ran helped  
  
from time to time...  
  
Aya's reverie was interrupted by a quiet knock on the door. He  
  
didn't respond. He never did. The door slowly opened and  
  
Yoji's  
  
head peered in. "Aya?" When he received no response, Yoji  
  
stepped  
  
in and closed the door behind him.  
  
"What do you want?" Aya asked coldly.  
  
"Look, I didn't mean to insult ya. What does WB really stand  
  
for?"  
  
Aya continued to glare. Yoji sighed heavily and sat on the edge of  
  
the bed. "Relax Aya, I really want to know."  
  
"WB Yeats was an Irish poet."  
  
Yoji smiled. "I should'a known it'd be something  
  
literary." Aya  
  
didn't reply, instead he ran a finger down the sleeping  
  
kitten's  
  
back. "You're real good at this Aya, a natural." The  
  
red head's  
  
usual mask of indifference slipped for a moment, to be replaced by a  
  
look of nostalgia and sadness.  
  
"Aya-chan was better," he murmured quietly.  
  
"You two had a kitten when you were younger?" Yoji asked,  
  
his  
  
interested piqued. It was so rare for Aya to open up about anything,  
  
especially his past.  
  
"Neko-chan," Aya smiled fondly. "She was Aya-chan's  
  
baby. I just  
  
helped out sometimes."  
  
"I wasn't allowed to have any pets. Dad was allergic and Mom  
  
thought  
  
they were too messy. They wouldn't even let me keep the goldfish  
  
one  
  
of my buddies got for me for my birthday," bitterness coated  
  
Yoji's  
  
voice. "Dad just flushed it down the toilet." Yoji lit up a  
  
cigarette as he always did when he felt himself growing upset.  
  
Aya held out his hand after Yoji took his first drag. The blonde  
  
handed it over to Aya, then lit another for himself. "Tousan  
  
said  
  
that having a pet would teach us responsibility." The redhead  
  
inhaled deeply and slowly released the smoke from between his pursed  
  
lips.  
  
Yoji watched the languid motions, transfixed by those lips.  
  
"Asuka  
  
had a dog. It was the ugliest mutt you'd ever meet..."  
  
"Did you keep it?" Aya inquired after a long silence.  
  
"Nah," Yoji replied quietly as he exhaled a streamer of  
  
smoke. "Didn't want any reminders of her. Gave it to some  
  
kid.  
  
Whatever happened to Neko-chan?" Aya's face drew back into  
  
the  
  
expressionless mask and he remained stonily silent. "Aya?"  
  
Yoji  
  
prompted.  
  
"Get out," Aya demanded coldly. Yoji opened his mouth, but  
  
Aya cut  
  
him off with a terse, "Now."  
  
"Jeez Aya. You're the moodiest person," Yoji muttered as  
  
he left the  
  
room. He paused in the doorway and turned around, "The cat was  
  
killed in the explosion, wasn't it?"  
  
"Yoji," Aya growled in warning. The blonde flashed him a sad  
  
expression, then left the room.  
  
----  
  
Over the next few weeks Aya and Yoji managed to wean the kitten and  
  
litter train it. WB started out sleeping only in Aya's room, but  
  
as  
  
it grew bigger and bolder, he began wandering around upstairs.  
  
Yoji's room became his daytime nap place. Nights he spent curled  
  
up  
  
on Aya's lower back. As kittens will do, WB grew by leaps and  
  
bounds... literally. He sprinted down the stairs and careened around  
  
corners with Ken in pursuit. The entire building, shop and living  
  
quarters, became his playground. While Omi hacked away on his  
  
computer WB curled up on the boy's lap and napped or swatted at  
  
fingers that flew over the keyboard. Upon his first meeting of Manx,  
  
they discovered the kitten was as big a flirt as Yoji. He curled  
  
himself around Manx's ankles purring happily and meowed cutely up  
  
at  
  
her. When she began to pet him, the kitten licked her palm.  
  
"He's been spending too much time with you, Yoji," Aya  
  
commented with  
  
the faintest of grins.  
  
"He's better at this than you are Yoji!" Ken snickered.  
  
"Manx  
  
doesn't give you half as much attention!"  
  
"Just wait until he's fat and lazy. You won't like  
  
`im so much  
  
anymore," Yoji muttered in reply.  
  
And so it went for the next six months. The cat purred himself into  
  
everyone's heart, particularly Aya's. He and Yoji took WB to  
  
the vet  
  
for his exam and shots. They also made sure they got him  
  
fixed. "This just isn't right," Yoji complained.  
  
"We're taking away  
  
his manhood."  
  
Aya rolled his eyes in exasperation, "You would say something  
  
like  
  
that. This is for his own good. Unlike you, when this cat goes into  
  
heat, he doesn't have every good looking thing within a five mile  
  
radius falling for his charms."  
  
Yoji sniffed. "I don't know whether I should take that as a  
  
compliment or an insult." Aya just shrugged.  
  
Aya was shorter tempered the rest of the day, snapping at the  
  
giggling school girls more than usual. Yoji smoked more than usual  
  
and pretty much ignored the girls.  
  
"What's with those two?" Ken asked of Omi as they closed  
  
up the shop  
  
after sending the other two off for supplies.  
  
"I think they're worried about WB."  
  
"He's having his nuts cut off! It's not like it's a  
  
hear transplant  
  
or anything. Geez," Ken rolled his eyes and made this statement  
  
as  
  
Aya and Yoji walked back in the door. Both directed their best  
  
glares in his direction. "Ehh... heh heh... Welcome back  
  
guys." He  
  
then made a mad dash for the greenhouse.  
  
When they brought the kitten home, both pampered him to his little  
  
heart's content. They fed him treats and saucers of cream. When  
  
he  
  
wanted attention, he received it. Aya mainly took care of watching  
  
the stitches, making sure they stayed clean and unlicked. Yoji  
  
usually hovered over Aya's shoulder in mother hen fashion.  
  
Both men began spending more time together. Playtime with WB would  
  
sometimes lead to long conversations. Yoji would regale Aya with  
  
stories of the more bizarre cases from his P.I. days. Or he would  
  
probe Aya about this or that book on the shelves. Western literature  
  
mingled with that of Japan. Books on history and philosophy stood  
  
beside collections of poetry. "What's this one?" Yoji  
  
asked as he  
  
picked up a leather bound volume.  
  
"Don't read it!" Aya commanded as he snatched it away.  
  
"You keep a journal?"  
  
"It's none of your business," the red head snapped.  
  
"Ok, ok," Yoji raised his hands in defeat. "But if you  
  
ever feel  
  
like sharing..." he trailed off at Aya's glare.  
  
"Don't you have a date or something?" Aya asked of Yoji.  
  
"Nah, not tonight," he replied with a flip of his honey brown  
  
locks.  
  
Violet eyes regarded the lanky man suspiciously, "You've been  
  
home a  
  
lot lately."  
  
Yoji turned on his most charming smile, "Why would I go out with  
  
some  
  
woman who rambles on inanely when I can have the pleasure of your  
  
warm company?" Ok, so that was mostly true... except for maybe  
  
the  
  
warm part. It was the warmth of winter in Tokyo compared to the cold  
  
of winter in the Arctic. But hey, it's more than Aya'd ever  
  
shown  
  
him.  
  
Aya stared flatly at Yoji, unsure of what to make of the comment.  
  
The man had been doing that a lot lately. Over the last week  
  
they'd  
  
spent many evenings here in Aya's room, playing with the cat and  
  
talking about nothing in particular. Is this what normal people do?  
  
Aya couldn't help but marvel internally at how utterly not like a  
  
killer he felt. Even some of his grief over leaving his sister in  
  
Tokyo without ever visiting was at bay during these evenings.  
  
"Do  
  
you ever stop flirting?" Aya asked.  
  
"Not when I'm around someone beautiful." He winked at  
  
Aya and  
  
brushed a finger over one porcelain doll pale cheek then  
  
rose. "G'night Aya. Be sure to get a good night's  
  
sleep.  
  
Tomorrow's gonna be a long day and a longer night."  
  
Aya didn't respond, only staring at the spot Yoji had occupied  
  
moments earlier. Strangely, the room felt chillier and darker  
  
without the man's entertaining... no!... annoying presence. Aya  
  
grabbed a pillow and threw it at the door. What are you doing  
  
Kudoh?! He unconsciously placed his hand over the cheek that Yoji  
  
had touched.  
  
  
  
The next day began gray and drizzly. Yoji pulled the pillow over his  
  
head after smacking the alarm clock. There was nothing more he  
  
detested than mornings... except maybe rainy mornings... rainy  
  
mornings that followed a night of bad dreams. Asuka, Asuka, will you  
  
ever leave me alone? You died twice, wasn't that enough? Do you  
  
have to die again every night in my dreams? A loud banging at the  
  
door and Ken's bellowing pulled him from his daily ruminations.  
  
The atmosphere of the Koneko was more subdued than usual. The one  
  
plus to rainy days, the rabid fangirls didn't show up in their  
  
usual  
  
droves. Aya glared more than usual and Yoji postured less than  
  
usual. Only Omi's genki nature and Ken's clumsiness kept the  
  
day  
  
from being a total downer. WB seemed to pick up on the mood when  
  
they closed the shop early that afternoon. He wrapped himself around  
  
Yoji's ankles with a loud, rumbling purr. The lanky assassin  
  
reached down and absently scratched behind the cat's ears and  
  
under  
  
his chin before going into his room and closing the door.  
  
The cat followed Aya into his room and curled up on the bed with a  
  
demanding meow for attention. Aya ran his hand down WB's silky  
  
coat,  
  
lost in thought. For once, it was Yoji and not Aya-chan who occupied  
  
his thoughts as he had since last night. He shook his head as if to  
  
erase from his mind those playful eyes and charming grin. "I  
  
don't  
  
need to be thinking about this. I need to rest for the mission."  
  
He  
  
stretched out on his back and WB climbed onto his chest where he  
  
curled up and fell asleep. Why can't sleep come that easily to  
  
me?  
  
He closed his eyes, but the feel of Yoji's finger still burned on  
  
his  
  
cheek.  
  
  
  
The mission was routine enough. Infiltrate the home of a drug lord,  
  
take him out and destroy the place. Nothing more difficult than what  
  
they'd done in the past, right? What they hadn't counted on  
  
was the  
  
enhanced guard around the place. Their intelligence had been grossly  
  
off.  
  
"Alright, here's the new plan," Omi announced and gave  
  
new  
  
instructions. Yoji and Ken would provide a distraction and take out  
  
the guards. In the chaos, Aya would sneak in and take out the target  
  
while Omi set up the explosives.  
  
"Saaa... Why do KenKen and I get stuck with all of the extra  
  
work?"  
  
Yoji complained. Normally he wouldn't be averse to taking out  
  
the  
  
extra guards, but with the lack of sleep he was more cranky than  
  
usual.  
  
"Sounds like you're gettin' too old for this line of  
  
work," Ken  
  
sassed.  
  
"I'll show you old. We'll just see who can take out more  
  
guards,"  
  
Yoji grumbled.  
  
"Don't be reckless!" Omi cautioned.  
  
"Don't be foolish," Aya imparted before the other two  
  
took off.  
  
After lots of action and blood, the target was killed. The men then  
  
returned to the Koneko. Something was off though. Normally when  
  
they returned from a mission, WB pounced them. There was no pouncing  
  
this evening. "Where's the psycho cat?" Yoji asked.  
  
Aya went up to his room to see if WB was there, but there was no sign  
  
of the cat. "He's not in my room either," Yoji reported  
  
from where  
  
he lounged in the doorway. He entered the room and lit up a  
  
cigarette for Aya. "He probably found a new hiding place,"  
  
Yoji said  
  
after a long silence. Aya didn't respond.  
  
"Uh, guys, we think we know what happened to the cat," Ken  
  
reported a  
  
short time later.  
  
"A window in the back of the shop was broken and the registers  
  
are  
  
busted open. But, the tills were in the safe, so no money was  
  
stolen," Omi continued.  
  
"Thanks Omi," Yoji said and Ken and Omi left. "Guess he  
  
got bored  
  
and decided to go exploring. He'll probably be back in the  
  
morning  
  
begging for a treat." Yoji tried to sound casual. Aya just sat  
  
in  
  
brooding silence, not even bothering to kick Yoji out before curling  
  
up on his side, facing away from his teammate. The blonde heaved a  
  
deep sigh and squeezed Aya's arm. "I'm just across the  
  
hall," he  
  
offered before leaving.  
  
  
  
The next morning dawned bright and sunny, without a trace of the rain  
  
clouds of the previous day... or the cat. Aya snapped and snarled  
  
when he even bothered to talk. Yoji kept casting concerned sidelong  
  
glances at the red head.  
  
The next day was a repeat of the last. And the next. And the next.  
  
For a week things continued as did that first day without the cat.  
  
That evening Omi and Ken decided to go out and see a movie to escape  
  
the oppressive atmosphere. Yoji sat at the kitchen table, a glass of  
  
whisky in front of him. Damn but he missed that cat... and the time  
  
he had spent with Aya. Since the cat's disappearance he had been  
  
totally closed off to spending any time with Yoji. He raised the  
  
glass to his lips to take another sip but paused halfway to his mouth  
  
when Aya dragged himself into the room. "Hey," Yoji greeted.  
  
Aya  
  
looked across the room with a haunted expression. "You miss  
  
`im too,  
  
huh?"  
  
The red head crossed the room to stand before Yoji and he sank to his  
  
knees as tears began to leak silently from his eyes. "Why?"  
  
he  
  
whispered brokenly.  
  
Yoji wrapped one arm around Aya's shoulders and stroked his hair  
  
with  
  
the other. "Why what?"  
  
"Why does everything I care about leave? My parents dead.  
  
Aya-chan  
  
in Paris with Sakura. WB... Why do they all go?"  
  
Yoji's chin came to rest on the top of Aya's silky head.  
  
"I don't  
  
know. Maybe we're all cursed or born under bad stars." He  
  
paused  
  
and trailed his hand down Aya's hair and over a smooth cheek.  
  
When  
  
Yoji reached the sorrowing man's chin, he tilted it up,  
  
"I'm still  
  
here."  
  
Aya's eyes tightened at the corners in confusion, "Yoji?"  
  
Emerald eyes gazed deeply into violet for a long moment. Then, Yoji  
  
closed the distance between their faces and brushed his lips over  
  
Aya's in a gently caress. They ghosted over a cheekbone and up  
  
to  
  
his ear where Yoji murmured quietly, "I care. A lot. And  
  
I'm still  
  
here. I'm not going anywhere."  
  
The swordsman's arms tightened around Yoji's too thin frame  
  
and Aya  
  
buried his face in Yoji's neck. Yoji brought his lips back to  
  
Aya's  
  
in a tender, lingering kiss. A breeze blew in from the slightly open  
  
window, sending a shiver through Aya. He looked up at Yoji with  
  
heavily lidded, shadowed eyes. The taller man nudged Aya into a  
  
standing position and held onto one arm just above the elbow, guiding  
  
him upstairs. Yoji led Aya to his room, "Why don't you get  
  
some  
  
sleep?"  
  
"Don't go," Aya pleaded quietly.  
  
Yoji nodded and followed Aya into the room. Aya laid down on the  
  
bed, and Yoji followed after divesting himself of all but his  
  
underwear. Yoji spooned up behind Aya and held him close. After a  
  
short time both men drifted off to sleep.  
  
The next morning dawned bright and shiny once again. Yoji cracked an  
  
eye open as he felt Aya stirring beside him. For once it wasn't  
  
a  
  
fight to consciousness, finally he felt refreshed after a night not  
  
plagued by nightmares of Asuka's death.  
  
"Yoji," Aya nudged his ribs. "Look." There at the  
  
end of the bed  
  
was a bedraggled WB. Aya scooped the cat into his arms and cradled  
  
it close.  
  
"Well what do ya know?" Yoji mused as he scratched behind  
  
the cat's  
  
ears. WB's eyes slid open and he meowed up at his humans  
  
hungrily.  
  
After being assured he would be fed, the cat gave his humans a smug,  
  
self-satisfied look.  
  
End 


End file.
